It’s been raining nearly all week. The night sky is starless. The wind cool and soothing. As I type this down, a vanilla-scented candle is wafting its sweet scent and I feel grounded. Almost at peace, if only my mind would learn to quiet down once in a while.
While no tears were shed this week (unless you count tears of laughter, which this household never seem to run out of in regular doses) and no beers were consumed (except for honey water, which I’m having right now), I am happy to report that the cedar wood vanilla candle from Bath & Body Works is really making me feel all calm and relaxed, in spite of the week-long rain and the dangers it posed.
What I’ve been consuming
I always needed to read everyday. It was a habit I have formed and books were (and still are) my jam. I love reading and I practically eat words for breakfast.
I used to think that I had to read at least a couple of pages of a book each and every day. But then I spent more and more time online, reading articles and newsletters. Books were, for the most part, shelved (pun intended). It was only recently that I told myself that words are words. It didn’t matter if I consumed them through the magical pages of a book or in black-and-white print of an article I found in the internet or the lyrics of different songs. Words are words and I will continue to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in whatever format. Here is a list of newsletters that I have been reading and loving. I love learning new things and they don’t ever disappoint:
Literary Hub
Ann Friedman
Austin Kleon
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova
Maribeth Helen
Emma Gannon
Liz Galvao
The What
Choose your fighter: Team 🥔 or team 🦋?
“Nevertheless” was the dark horse in my list of current kdramas. I initially didn’t want to watch it because meh. It didn’t seem like my type. But I ran out of series to watch one day and decided to give it a chance. I’m glad I did.
The plot is pretty simple: Guy and girl has a random but unforgettable meet-cute. Girl falls for the guy, even though everyone keeps telling her he doesn’t do commitments. And we all know that situation is more relatable to the audience than, say, finding yourself in the middle of an unsolved crime in your neighborhood while forming a bond and connection with your neighbor psychiatrist. (That kdrama is great, by the way. Make no mistake. “You Are My Spring” is another dark horse in my kdrama list, but that is another post for another time.)
“Nevertheless” is pretty much the cautionary tale of how we have the tendency to fall in love with someone toxic, if not unfit for various reasons. We fall in love even though we know that person is bad for us. We give ourselves reasons that we want to believe, playing blind to all the red flags. In “Nevertheless”, though, our female lead , Yu Na-bi, reconnects with her childhood friend by chance. And so there’s another plot twist, that game changer when another player has entered the game. And you know they’re just begging for this question to be asked: Who would you choose? Mysterious, I-don’t-do-commitments but sexy as hell to get away with it Park Jae Eon or sweet and charming Yang Do Hyeok who wears his heart on his sleeve?
On repeat
First off: I am honestly, deeply impressed. Throw away the fact that he’s good-looking. Zero in on his talent in dancing. Take into consideration his ear for music, his passion for it. Focus on the fact that he’s able to arrange, compose, write, and produce his own songs. I’m not sure what I signed up for when I started listening to Lay Zhang’s songs, but getting hooked into them was a surprise for me. It was like opening a box full of surprises — the good kind.
His album “Honey” is so good. It has a sultry vibe to it, all rich and smooth. I love every song in that EP. “Lit” is another album of his that I like. I love the fact that he managed to seamlessly mix his Chinese roots with the standard hip-hop/r&b, both in the songs and the “Lit” music video. It totally blew me away, I kid you not. You can watch the music video here. The cinematography, the song, the concept — They are all beautiful. I promise you it’s worth watching.
It’s always interesting to learn about other cultures and including them in his works hit the mark for me. It’s perfect. I love his goal there: Mixing elements of his Chinese roots and his love for music. He does it so, so well, too. I look forward to listening to more of his songs and watching more of his performances. And I always eagerly watched all those times he shared his creative process. My favorite was when he was in a live and he was just sitting in the car, piecing together a song. It was such a treat watching that moment. I love hearing about fellow creatives’ processes with their crafts. It’s very interesting and there is always something new to learn from them.
The week in gif
I wish you all a safe and happy brand new workweek ahead! Now please excuse me as I continue my extra long weekend. 😁
If you like what you’ve read, please consider subscribing to my newsletter. It goes out twice a month (mid-month and end of the month). I mostly talk about kdramas and (creative) life in general.
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